Freedom of Time to Pursue (FTP)

I know a lot of people who just want to make a lot of money and then retire. Once they are retired they have nothing to do and they end up of going back to work after a year of retirement. They had no plan for their post work life. In teaching they call this a retire/ rehire situation. I know of coaches with no hobbies except their sport, and they coach until they physically can’t anymore. I was talking to another coach friend of mine the other day, and we were speculating when another coach might retire and if they would shake up the coaches and their duties a bit. He replied, “I can’t see him retiring, unless its a retire/ rehire situation because he has no hobbies and wouldn’t know what to do.” He then followed up with, “Josh you could easily retire because you like to travel, Crossfit, bowl, and you do that internet stuff too. Retiring would be easy for you I bet.” I thought, yeah, I could be very busy in my retirement writing blogs, doing freelance work, traveling the world, working on my land, building that extension to my shed, gardening, bowling in a league (because I would have time), hanging out with my friends and family more, and a millions other things I wish I had more time for. My vision of retirement is finding a way to pay my bills, and having the freedom of time to pursue all my interests. So, in a way I’m not trying to reach financial independence (FI), but I’m trying to reach FTP.

I would love to learn to paint, or join a book club (online of course talking in person seems forced), and I would love to hop on a plane and eat BBQ in Kansas City on a Tuesday night. I am aiming to live for extended periods of time in other countries and learning new languages and cultures. I hope to run for political office sometime and make a real difference in the lives of others, and use some financial common sense to appeal to the everyday man. I’m not out here trying to get power, but I am trying to help people everyday in an educational setting, online with my blog, with my church, so I figure the next step is politically one day. I actually did run for the President of the United States this past election; I didn’t use alternative truths, so it was tough to appeal using real truths. I got 47 votes in Texas; the only state I registered for officially. If I had more time I might have gotten a few hundred votes.

I feel if we all had more time and a few hobbies we loved to do, we could all become more well rounded individuals and better the world. Imagine the last great idea you had for a new product, company, or anything. Imagine if you had an extra 20 hours a week to work on that. I bet over some months it could have been a reality and bettered the world. I have those ideas on a weekly or even daily basis, and a lot of times I give them out for 1% to many people I run into. I say, “I don’t have time to do that, but if you do it I want 1% for coming up with the idea.” Most could be multi million dollar ideas such as left over food apps, improved head phones, movie script ideas, clothing brands built on attitude and comfort, computerized referees for the NBA. I got crazy and great ideas all day long and I just need the freedom of time to pursue a few of them. This is why I love Elon Musk because he made his money and he is basically retired and changing the world now. I mean he is going to Mars, going solar, recreating batteries, electric cars, and tunneling through L.A. to solve traffic problems. This is a great example of FTP!!

I want to promote this new way of using your fortune to not retire and be bored and play golf, but instead use your new found time to pursue things that you always wanted to do before. Pursue early retirement and financial independence while you are young and able, and then use your time to change the world for the better. Leave the world a better place because of your interests. Grow healthier food, volunteer and teach financial courses, consult in a field to help the youngsters just starting out get better. I love our retired coaching mentor that volunteers his time at our practices and games. His knowledge is so valuable and he has helped me become a better man. Earn your freedom of time to pursue and lets all create a better world. Let’s all reach FTP!!